Basketball Game Preview: Hopewell Titans vs. Mallard Creek Mavericks

Hopewell is 2-8 against Mallard Creek since February of 2020 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Hopewell Titans are taking a road trip to take on the Mallard Creek Mavericks at 6:00 p.m. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Hopewell will roll into the match after a wild two-game stretch: they only put up nine points last Friday, then bounced right back against Harding University on Friday. Hopewell blew past Harding University 68-42. The Titans pushed the score to 54-29 by the end of the third, a deficit the Rams had little chance of recovering from.

Meanwhile, Mallard Creek waltzed into their contest on Friday with five straight wins... but they left with six. They strolled past the Lions with points to spare, taking the game 47-30. Given the Mavericks' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked eighth, while the Lions are ranked 105th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Hopewell better keep an eye on My?Asia Young. She was instrumental in Mallard Creek's win, dropping a double-double on 14 points and ten boards. Young is on a roll when it comes to rebounds, as she's now pulled down ten or more in the last three games she's played. Jazmeen Stone was another key player, putting up 13 points.

Mallard Creek's win was their 19th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 16-2. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 69.6 points per game. As for Hopewell, their victory ended a five-game drought on the road and puts them at 3-12.

Hopewell was dealt a bruising 76-21 defeat at the hands of Mallard Creek when the teams last played back in December of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Mallard Creek's Kiara Anderson, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and ten steals. Now that Hopewell knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.